Third Threat
by T. S. Idiot
Summary: They defeated the Titans, they conquered the Giants, but now a new threat has arisen, as well as a new group of demigods to take them down. (ABANDONED. DO NOT READ THIS VERSION)


Chapter 1:

 **Katarina:**

 _Clunk._ The shattering sound of her scull hitting the hard, wooden desk knocked the drowsiness out of Katarina's mind as she sat up, desperately trying to pay attention to the monotone voice of Mr. Adams, who was yammering on and on about sodium or particles or something breathtakingly boring. Her head turned to the window as she stared outside at the pretty snowflakes falling from the sky, sprinkling the ground with a light coat of white. Her eyes cleared from the blurriness of boredom as she stared at the suspicious scene before her. _Why the hell is it snowing in the middle of April?_

Katarina stood up and began walking towards the classroom door.

"Excuse me, Miss Ateyer, Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Adams glared at her and his voice strayed away from the usual dull drone to a sharp, accusational tone.

"Oh, umm… Can I go to the bathroom please? I think I got my period." She smirked, knowing that excuse would get her out of class faster than anything else. You know how teachers tell you the magic word is 'please'? That's not true. The magic word is 'period'. It will get you out of class faster than anything else.

Mr. Adams waved her out, almost exasperatedly as he turned back to the class to continue his boring lecture. Katarina ran down the hall to the doors at the end of the hallway, leading outside, where big fluffy snowflakes still fell from the sky. She pushed the door open and felt a cold rush of air blow past her. She pushed her hands through her blond hair in an attempt to keep it from blowing in her face violently. It was windy. _Really_ windy. The snow had stopped and had now shifted to a heavy hail storm. The ice pellets pounded down onto the parking lot asphalt in a constant, deafening rhythm.

Katarina held her arms over her head in an attempt to block the ice and walked out to the edge of the lot, scanning the soccer field that spread out in front of her. The space was clear as usual, except for the single old oak tree that grew tall and strong by the fence. Under the snow covered tree were three small figures jumping and spinning and dancing around. _Who were they?_ Katarina thought as she began walking towards the tree.

Once she was half way there, the people stopped what they were doing and watched as she approached, staring and pointing. She stopped in her tracks and stared back at them, wondering what they were doing out here at a time like this.

"Hey there!" she yelled from where she stood, "Isn't it a bit cold to be out here now?"

She continued walking, feeling more comfortable having already greeted them. The people began walking towards her as well, whispering to each other as they approached. As she got closer, the image of the three got clearer. They were almost identical; all girls, but shorter than average. Their frames were all small and delicate, with tiny waists and petite shoulders. After a few more steps, Katarina stopped walking as she got a clear look at the three girls. Their clothes, as well as their hair and skin were as white as frost. Their devious smiles showed jagged shark-like teeth behind their thin, pale lips. But the most frightening thing about them was their abnormally bright, blood red eyes that stared at the girl with a fierce hunger.

Katarina gasped out loud, wasting no time as she turned to run in the other direction. But the newly fallen snow and hail made it hard for her to find proper footing as more of it pounded down from the sky, distorting her vision. Before she could even take four steps, she heard a ferocious growl as her feet left the ground, only to feel the cold, snow covered grass slam into her body a second later. One of the evil little demon girls flipped her over and straddled her waist, while the other two each took an arm to hold down. The first girl balled her hand into a tiny fist and swung at Katarina's face. Her hand was as cold and hard as ice, slamming into the pinned girl's jaw once, twice, three times before it stopped.

The girl laughed like a maniac, and her friends followed suit as Katarina lay defenceless on the ground, screaming and kicking, trying desperately to get away. As she leaned in closer, it became easier to see her facial features. Her nose, chin and ears were stretched out to a point in a way that was almost laughably elf-like. The girls skin was in fact not white, but a pale shade of ice blue. She was a beautiful as the sharp edge of a poisoned dagger. The girl chuckled again, revealing her razor sharp teeth that seemed to be lengthening and becoming sharper.

"Well, look at this girls," the little snow witch said, smirking. "We got ourselves a tasty little half-blood."

"What the hell are you?!" yelled Katarina. She felt confused and terrified, and all she wanted was to wake up from the horrifying nightmare.

The girl on top of her smirked, her thin white lips curling upward, making her cheeks look more round and her face less pointed. "We're snow nymphs. Daughters of Khione, often confused with Maenads, but personally I think that's a little racist."

"Common, Eira! What are you waiting for? Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food? Let's hurry up and freeze her bones! I'm starving!"

"Shut-up Nevara! Can't we have a little fun first? We've done nothing but run in the snow for weeks and now we finally have something to toy with!" Eira responded. She was obviously the leader of the three. Nevara, the one on the left, frowned but stayed quite.

"Yes, but not just any toy," purred the third one. "A demigod," she smiled hungrily as she leaned in and grabbed a handful of Katarina's long, blond hair, brought it to her pointed nose and inhaled as though she were smelling a freshly grilled steak.

"A _what_? What the hell are you talking about?" Katarina began struggling again, thrashing, squirming and bucking her hips up and down, trying to throw Eira off her, but the girl just smiled, as her teeth sharpened and she opened her mouth wide to take the first bite. Then, just before her disgusting shark teeth could sink into Katarina's neck, all the weight lifted from her body as Eira was thrown to the side by an enormous grey wolf. The canine shredded the tiny snow nymph to pieces within seconds, then turned and leaped for the nearest one, hungry for seconds.

"Gwen!" screamed Nevara, too distracted by the death of her sister to pay any attention to Katarina as she squirmed out of the way, leaving an open path for the wolf to lunge onto the third and final nymph. It clawed and bit and thrashed at gnawed at the small girl until there was nothing left. Once it was over, the layer of snow on the ground now stained with gold dust, the wolf turned to Katarina, its snout covered in in the shimmering remains of the three girls. It had protected her. It saved her life.

The grey wolf approached slowly, cautiously, and lay down next to Katarina, resting its head on her stomach.

"Thank you," she said, staring into the wolf's black eyes. She continued to stare, waiting for some kind of response from the wolf, but nothing came. She looked back up to the sky, feeling freezing tears stream down her temples and into her hair. The snow had stopped. She looked back at the wolf, its obsidian pupils seemed to blend into the smoky color of its irises. Suddenly the darkness in its eyes seemed to expand until it consumed her completely, and she was left alone, cold, swimming in the shadows.

 **Alexandria:**

Nine of them stood in a circle as the earth shook. The land where they stood was littered with bodies and blood. Alexandria stared at the faces of each girl in the circle of nine, trying to remember them, trying to engrave their eyes and smiles into her brain before it all ended. But none of it stuck. Their faces vanished from her mind just as she looked away. She knew the end was coming, and she couldn't stop it. Everyone would die.

Suddenly the sound of a conch horn rang through the air and Alex sat up quickly, knocking her head on the bunk above her. She groaned and rolled out of bed, combing her fingers through her hair quickly before walking over to the bathroom of the Hermes cabin. She grabbed her tooth brush and began scrubbing her teeth clean. Travis Stoll entered the bathroom with her, bumped her shoulder and smiled. He grabbed his toothbrush and mimicked Alexandria as they both brushed their teeth in unison. Alex finished first, spitting into the sink, then returned to her bunk to get dressed.

She got her clean clothes for the day and returned to the bathroom to change quickly before anyone else needed it. She shut the door and took off her pajamas from the night before, covered in sweat from a rough night of bad dreams.

Once she was changed, Alexandria exited the bathroom, allowing a few other campers to enter and brush their teeth. She returned to her bunk to place her pajamas in her trunk. As she sat at the back edge of her bed, rummaging through her trunk looking for her hairbrush, she heard a light giggle over her shoulder.

"What do you want Charlie?" she asked, not needing to look over her shoulder to know it was the young daughter of Hermes.

"Happy birthday!" she squealed in excitement. Alex turned around to see the young girl standing in her usual jean shorts and Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. Her long brown hair was held up in tight pig tails, and her crooked teeth were clearly displayed with her clearly joyful smile.

"Thanks," Alex said with the best smile she could manage. She knew it wasn't Charlie's fault for her annoyance, but sometimes the girl acted more childish than she should, given her current situation.

"Do you think it'll happen today?" she asked enthusiastically. She nearly seemed to hop with excitement as she spoke the words Alexandria had been thinking for weeks now.

"I doubt it. If my mom were going to claim me, she would have done it a year ago, or two years ago, or when I first got here. But she hasn't, and I'm still stuck here."

"Oh, common! Today is more special than the other days! You're turning sixteen! Aren't you excited?" This time Charlie did jump, and clapped her hands. She seemed to be much more excited than Alex for a birthday that wasn't even hers.

"No, I'm not," she said, her usual serious tone emerged through the grogginess left by her broken sleep from the night before. "By the end of the day, after breakfast, after training and after the bonfire, I'll come back here and sleep in this bed in the cabin for the unclaimed just like I did every night since I got here. So stop thinking about it, because it's not happening."

A wounded expression appeared on Charlie's face as Alex's words sank in. she took a moment to think before she spoke again; "sometimes you can be really mean, you know that?"

Alex, already exhausted for the day, knelt down next to Charlie the way parents do to be at equal level with the child. She smiled sincerely, though her words said the opposite. "You're turning eleven this year, Charlie. Stop acting like a wounded animal and grow up." She patted the small girl on the shoulder, though she regretted her words. Alex stood up, with all the remaining cabin member who hadn't left yet staring at her. Without making eye contact, she took her sword from on top of her bed and stomped out of the door, slamming it behind her.

Alexandria stood in training arena, her bronze sword gripped tightly as she hacked at the practice dummy with no real strategy. The frustrating reality of her situation raced through her mind. She'd been at this stupid camp for three years, fought countless monsters, partaken in two wars. What was her mother waiting for? After Percy Jackson made the deal with the gods to have them claim all their children at the age of thirteen, she was sure it was only a matter of time. But here she was, a thousand years later, still with no clue of her mother's identity.

"Hey punk, stop messing up all the practice dummies!"

Startled, Alex turned quickly; her demigod senses turned on high, and swung her sword at the person behind her. Clarisse fell on her butt, dodging the blade but making herself look like an idiot, which did improve Alex's mood a little. Her brothers, Mark and Jared stood behind her, (she couldn't remember which was which) and bent over to help her up.

"Get out of here, LaRue. I'm not in the mood."

"Aww," she cooed sarcastically, making a mocking pouty face like the little shit she was. "Is little Alex sad because her mommy didn't send her a message on her super special birthday?"

The two boys behind her laughed like idiots, which only irked Alex even more. Without thinking, she swung her sword at the daughter of Ares, who, with a surprised look on her face, jumped back in an attempt to dodge the blade. She didn't jump back far enough, though. Alexandria smirked in satisfaction as the sharp edge nicked Clarisse's cheek, leaving a cut that oozed a thin line of blood.

Alex looked at the other girl, her face as hard as stone. "I said I'm not in the mood."

Clarisse went to wipe the blood off her cheek as she stared at Alex in anger. "You cut me!" she yelled in rage.

"Way to point out the obvious, asshat. Now get out of here, unless you're hungry for some more," She replied with a smirk.

"Oh, it's so on now!" snickered one of the brothers.

"Shut up Mark!" Clarisse grabbed the sword that hung from Mark's belts and faced Alex. She growled like an angry bear, lunging towards her with the sword. Alex deflected her blow easily, standing ready for the next attack. Clarisse continued her long series of clumsy attacks influenced by the anger bubbling inside of her. Alexandria continued to defend with no trouble, keeping her focus as sharp as the sword she held.

"Common Clarisse, quick goin' easy and just finish her off already!" Mark yelled.

Alex glanced over at him, distracted by the noise, just as Clarisse brought the butt of her sword down, aiming for her head. She probably didn't think Alex would get distracted and would deflect the blow, but the sword hit home, knocking into Alexandria's head _hard_.

In the background of the sharp, piercing pain, Alex heard someone laugh, probably Mark.

"That's not funny, man. I think she's really hurt," said Jared, sounding concerned.

"Serves the punk right," one of them replied, but with Clarisse's manly voice she couldn't tell who said it. Her knees buckled as she held her head, trying to reduce the pain. Her hand went out catch her from falling, and she saw through her blurry vision that her fingers were stained red.

"Someone needed to knock that bitch off her high horse." said a voice, probably Clarisse, sounding far away now.

"Guys, I'm serious. We should take her to the infirmary, she's bleeding! She could have a concussion!"

"Fine. Common, Clarisse, let's take Jared's little girlfriend to see Chiron."

A thump rang through her head and she felt the cool ground against her cheek. Then suddenly, the dirt was lifted away from her, and she felt arms around her, carrying her away from… where was she again? The thought vanished from her brain as soon as it appeared, and all that followed was dark bliss.

 **Tatianna and Cassandra:**

"Would you hurry up already?" Tatianna called from the top of the hill, hidden by the shade of the tall, thick trees surrounding them.

"Yeah, I bet it's real easy for you to walk fast when all you need to carry is that stupid bow," Cass said, dropping the two large, heavy backpacks on the ground, gesturing to them dramatically.

"Would you like some cheese with that whine, or are you going to set up camp while I go get some food?"

"Tatianna, this is ridiculous! We're just a few miles from the nearest town! Can't we please just walk and stay in the nearest hotel? I'm tired of eating burnt squirrel and sleeping on the ground!"

"No, we can't, Cass. You know it's more dangerous out in the open, where anyone could be a monster! We stay out of sight, and don't trust anyone. That's how we've worked for months now, you know this!"

"Fine," Cass replied, rolling her eyes as she stooped down to start setting up the sleeping bags. "But can you try and find something more nutritious than mice and rabbits? I'm tired of that shit."

Tatianna crouched next to her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder for reassurance as the other rested her silver bow on the ground. "Don't worry, ok? I know where we're going. We'll find the camp soon! I promise, we'll have real beds and proper food within the next week."

Cass closed her eyes, trying to remember the feel of a soft pillow under her head. But even more than that, she couldn't wait to get her hands on a thick, juicy bacon cheese burger. Her mouth began to water just thinking about it. She imagined herself sitting at a table, with a dozen burgers on a plate in front of her, it was so close she could almost smell it, taste it …

"How do you know camp is real anyway?" she asked, interrupting her own thoughts before they got too far… again.

Tatianna chuckled. "Because I know! Rob told me."

Cass rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because Rob knows everything."

"Don't get snarky!" she said, standing and scooping up her bow from where she left it. "I'll be back before sundown. Try not to eat your left arm."

And with that final bit of advice, Tatianna ran off into the trees, following some animal trail, or scent or the Force or whatever.

Cass lay back, looking up at the clear blue sky, which would soon dim to a dull orange. After a few seconds, Cass sat up, uncomfortable with the way her two swords sat behind her back. She unstrapped them, put them aside and lay back down, waiting for her friend to return.

As she laid waiting, she thought of the relationship she had with Tatianna, and how it's grown in the last six months since they met. Though they were both the same age, it didn't take long for Tatianna to assume the "big sister" role, leading them both to the safe haven Tatianna's friend Rob had told her about. Camp Half-Blood seemed non-existent when they first got started, but now, after everything they've heard about, it seemed like more of a real home to Cass than trying to get back to New Orleans.

She rested one hand on her swords that sat next to her as she stared up at the clear sky, waiting for Tatianna to return.

Tatianna stopped where she stood, studying the trees and the sunlight leaking through from the evening sun. Her gaze left the treetops as she crouched down, using her fingers to test the density of the mud where the hoof print was. It was fresh enough that the animal in question shouldn't be too far ahead. Tatianna thought it was a deer, but the tracks seemed strange. It seems to put more weight on its back legs than its front. Also, from looking at the hoof prints, it seems almost as though the deer were wearing some type of engraved horseshoe, leaving strange markings on the ground. Though, she didn't give this too much thought. Food was food, and Tatianna was hungry.

She stood, bow ready, and began traveling west in a light jog, being careful not to step on any leaves or twigs that would make too much noise on impact.

She remembered what her father would always tell her when they would go fishing by the old creek together. "Shut your trap and concentrate," he would tell her in his loud Oklahoma accent. "If you scare them damn fish they ain't gon' be comin' back before your bedtime!"

Tatianna smiled at the memory, and regretted it immediately after. She was so distracted, smiling like an idiot at her stupid redneck dad that she didn't see the tree branch that was about to make contact with her head. She stopped just in time before her scull could knock against it. Smiling, she patted the tree and turned away from it, only to see the deer standing a short twenty feet away. At least… she thought it was a deer.

The small animal stood grazing in a small clearing, its horns branching up above its head. Though the animal had horns, it had many characteristics that led Tatianna to believe it was female. But that wasn't even the weirdest part. The deer was silver. Its fur seemed to glisten and shine in the sunlight like it was wearing a coat that was woven out of actual silver thread.

 _What the hell is this thing?_ She thought, lowering her bow from its shooting position. It might be some sort of sacred animal, or maybe a monster that disguised itself as a pretty deer to lure in demigods. She hoped it was the latter as the raised her bow once again to shoot.

 _Maybe it won't turn to dust when I shoot it,_ she thought. She hoped her silver arrow wouldn't make the deer turn to dust. Cass would be so disappointed it all she could bring back was a few squirrels _again_. It might be a monster, but like she said, food was food.

Just before she could release her arrow, the deer looked up, sensing her presence before it ran off into the trees. She still let go of the arrow in an attempt to hit the stupid deer, but it just hit a tree and it was already too deep within the trees to shoot by the time she drew a second arrow from her quiver.

Tatianna cursed under her breath, kicking a tree before jogging off in the direction where the deer ran. But before she could run three steps, she heard a loud _thunk_ next to her head. She looked at the tree beside her, where a long silver arrow stuck out of the bark.

 _Motherf-_

She turned without hesitation, running back to where she left Cass to set up camp, at least a mile away, and ran as fast as she could. She knew she shouldn't lead them back to Cass, but it's not like she could text her a warning. And even if she did, they could just follow her previous footprints back to their camp site. No, this was the best option. If she could get to Cass first, she could protect her. They could run.

 _But for how long?_

 **Tanya:**

After attending a fully French school since junior kindergarten, Tanya spoke the language as easily as she spoke English, maybe even better. She learned all her math equations and scientific terms in French. It was considered disrespectful to speak English to your teachers, and would often result in a hot scolding if you tried. The only class that was taught in English around here was, wait for it… English class. So why the hell was Tanya sitting in her tenth grade French class _learning how to conjugate verbs_? This wasn't anything new, and the stupid supply teacher wouldn't shut up no matter how many people tell him we learned this when we were seven.

Tanya felt her eyes getting heavier and heavier, her mind slowly fading away from the boredom of reality. She felt her hand slip from supporting her chin, and her face slamming down to collide with her desk, but she didn't care. She allowed her mind to fade away as her eyes shut, as she drifted into blissful sleep.

She would have liked to sleep forever, disappear into the fantastic world of her own imagination and live in a place of amazing possibility. But with time ticking away and the puddle of drool growing by the second, it was only a matter of time before Tanya woke up.

She opened her eyes slowly, letting her vision refocus as she looked over at Ava Miller, the small blonde girl that sat next to me, to see her head laid gently on her desk, and a light snoring noise coming from her slightly parted lips. _So I'm not the only one,_ she thought, smiling at her desk buddy. Though she felt her smile slowly fade as she realized how quiet her surroundings were.

Tanya sat up straight, looking around her class to see every student with their heads placed firmly on their desks, snoozing away. Every last one of them. Even the stupid substitute had his abnormally large head leaning against the white board, as he smiled creepily in his sleep and hugged himself.

 _What. The. Fuck._

Tanya stood up, leaning over Ava, shaking her furiously and screaming for her to wake up. But she didn't budge. Didn't even flinch.

Feeling dizzy, Tanya stumbled away from her desk as she turned and ran for the door, grabbing the handle and pushing it open as hard as she could, which, she soon realized, was a terrible idea.

As Tanya began to stumble out of the class, the door, (which had hit the outside wall quite hard) swung back with an enormous amount of force, smacking her right in her nose. A high pitched squeaking noise escaped her throat as she fell to the ground, clutching her nose and praying it wouldn't swell up. (Seriously, her nose was big enough.)

She stood up quickly, not spending too much time on the ground as reopened the now closed door (gently this time) and walked out into the hall. There were a few students that lay unconscious in the hall, some by open lockers. No one was awake, not the teachers, not the students, nobody. _Then why am I?_

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?" she called, hoping desperately for an answer, though, given her surroundings, not actually expecting one.

"Yes! The spell worked!"

Tanya nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to see a boy standing at the end of the long hallway, who fist pumped and began to run towards her. At first he didn't look all that familiar, but as he got closer, she recognised the strange gallop-like limp and the impish grin of the boy.

"Tanya, it's you! That's so weird! You don't really smell like a demigod. I was kinda hoping it would be Jenna Wilson, that hot senior on the volleyball team! Umm, not that you're not hot, I mean, I like your red hair, and your eyes are really pretty. It's just that your eyes are a little uneven and you have a huge nose, which looks more crooked than usual. Oh gods, I didn't mean to say that! I just meant that your nose doesn't fit your face because it's abnormally large. I mean-"

"Seth, shut up." She couldn't handle the yammering of the short little freshman, though there were a few things that he said that were making her head spin. Or maybe the door had just given her a concussion.

Seth was half a head shorter than Tanya, with curly brown hair and a wicked devious smile. His big brown eyes always reminded her of a baby goat, though without the innocence. This kid had played more pranks around the school in just the first semester of his freshman year than any other student had in like the history of ever. So obviously, his trick to never getting caught was to remain insignificant and unnoticed. He always stayed quiet in class. Never said anything that made him stand out.

Things like "spells" and "demigods" weren't things that someone says if they want to stay below the radar.

"Seth, what the hell are you talking about? Did you put sleeping gas in the vents again? Why is everyone asleep?"

He smiled his little trickster smile that so few people actually got to see. "No, Tanya, this isn't a prank! It's you! You're the one they sent me to find!"

"Who sent you to find me? What are you talking about?" she asked, desperate for an explanation.

"Chiron sent me. He said that he received an anonymous letter saying you'd be here and sent me immediately to find you!" he paused, seeing her confused look before correcting himself. "Sorry, I guess I should start from the beginning. We should go see your dad. He'll probably have some idea who your mom is."

Tanya's eye snapped back into clarity as all confusion left and was replaced with anger. "What the hell are you talking about? You're bringing my mom into this? I have no idea who she is! I've never met her! Is this some stupid prank you're playing on me? Because I swear to god, if you're just playing me I will beat the shit out of you, do you understand you stupid little- OUCH!" she screamed, pulling away from Seth's hand that had abruptly grabbed her nose and twisted it to the side, making a loud and disgusting cracking noise and making Tanya's face explode in pain.

"I fixed it!" he said, smiling like an innocent four-year-old.

Tanya's hand cupped under her nose, trying to catch the waterfall of blood gushing from her set nose. "Are you fricken kidding me? Now is _so_ not the time!"

Seth gave another sheepish grin before apologizing. "Common, let's go see your dad. He'll help me explain everything."

 **Andrea:**

When the bell finally rang, Andrea didn't hesitate to grab her books and practically run for the door. Who cares if it was rude? Who cares if the teacher was in the middle of assigning homework? _I don't. Why should I respect anyone in this hell hole if they don't respect me?_ She thought, tossing her books into her locker and shrugging on her blue jacket.

Not wanting to stay for another second, she ran from the building. _I hate it here,_ she thought, not even glancing back at the old building once; her own personal living hell.

She wanted to get home, locker herself in her room and draw. She loved drawing. In fact, it was the only thing that kept her sane, the only thing that kept her from leaving her asshat father and his stupid plans for her behind. She never wanted to go to this stupid high school. It was a pre-law institution with a shitty, practically non-existent art program. Everyone there walked around like they had enormous silver spoons proudly shoved up their khaki covered ass holes. All they ever talked about was Harvard and how proud their parents were of them. Andrea couldn't think of a worse place to be.

Her father used to be a lawyer. Yeah, you read correctly. _Used to be._ As in not anymore. He quit working after Andrea was dropped at his front step. Now he just sat around, drinking and telling his only daughter what to do. _And you have the nerve to try and make me like you when you're such a fucked up mess._

She paused at the light, waiting for it to change so she could cross the road and get home before her dad got back from happy hour. He spent a lot of time there these days. Not that Andrea minded. As long as he was gone she had the house to herself, and it was a lot easier that way to get some actual work done. And have the occasional boy over.

"Hey, Andy, long time, no see!"

Andrea turned to see who was standing behind her. He was tall, dark and handsome. The familiar pretty face, dark skin and old leather biker jacket made her smile as she looked up at her old friend. Well, not exactly friend actually…

"Hey Isaac. Yeah it's been a while. How have you been?"

He smiled and took a step closer to her before saying, "I've been missing you. But you already knew that. Not that you actually bother to reply to any of my texts or pick up the phone when I call."

"As if you would ever call anyone!" she giggled, getting ready for the usual casual and cute banter that was about to start.

"Yeah, because I'm not whipped! You know, I'm not as thirsty as you think I am," he said, leaning in with the charming smile that reeled her in in the first place, so many months ago.

 _Oh, you are_ so _thirsty, you lying ass-_

Her thoughts were cut off when Isaac grabbed her, pulling her in and pressing his soft lips to hers. She should have pulled away, but it was so familiar. So nice to be close to someone again.

"You know I really missed you, Andy." He said against her lips, kissing her again before pulling away, just enough to look at her face, which was probably was red as a tomato. He smiled, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "So are you doing anything tonight?" he asked.

She stared into his gorgeous brown eyes before shaking her head, unable to form any actual words.

He smiled again, taking her hand and leading her away from the street light, which had already passed crossing time and was now a flashing orange hand again. She walked with him, in the opposite direction of her house. _Who cares?_ She thought. _My dad sure doesn't._

It was getting dark now, walking home from Isaac's house. And she had to admit, with a smile, that it was a little uncomfortable to walk. She tried to remember, counting on her fingers the amount of weeks it had been since she'd fooled around with anyone. Seven. It had been almost two months since she'd gotten laid, and damn did she miss it.

She stopped at the old screen door, which no longer really served its purpose since the screen itself had been torn to shreds. Now the only thing it was good for was annoying the hell out of Andrea as she tried to hold it open with one hand while the other fit the key into the rusted lock on the door.

When the door finally opened, she slid throw, slipping the key back into her pocket as the screen door shut forcefully behind her, banging loudly.

"Andrea, s'at you?" The slurred words came from the living room, along with what sounded like a football game on the old TV. _Crap, he's awake._

Joseph Eyesly, the previously esteemed Harvard alumni defense lawyer stood from the old beer stained couch and stumbled towards her, occasionally tripping over his own feet.

"Where the hell you been, Andy? It's like the middle o' the day, shouldn't you be at school?" He spat, leaning against the wall yet still seemed to stumble and almost lose his balance. Standing a good ten feet away, Andrea could smell the thick, disgusting odor of stale beer coming from her old man's repulsive exhale. _This is me in twenty years. This is the future I have set in store for me if I continue on this path of a career I don't want trying to please a man I hate._

Andrea turned towards the stairs, ignoring her father. _First mistake._

Just as she reached the third step, she felt a sharp tugging on her hair, making her tumble down the few stairs she climbed and fall flat on her face. The man knelt down behind her and lifted her head off the ground by her hair. "How many times are you gonna sneak off with some boy b'fore you realize that you're just a worthless slut?" her father whispered in her ear, the nasty smell of alcohol overwhelming her. "When are ya gonna start focusing on school, Andy? I need you to go to Harvard. I need you to make me money!"

"Why?" She spat, pushing away from him and struggling to stand. "So I can buy you more beer for you to drink and a new couch for you to die on? It's not my fault you're lazy and broke! If you hadn't quit your job, I might be able to eat dinner more than once a week!"

Her dad just stared at her. He wasn't yelling. He wasn't hitting her. The quiet was worse. Andrea bit her tongue, holding back any more cruel words as she waited for her father to speak, knowing what would come next.

He lifted his arm, looking at his once well-kept Rolex watch. "You have ten minutes to get your stuff and get out. Don't come back this time."

 **Emilia:**

Nine of them stood in a circle as the earth shook. The land where they stood was littered with bodies and blood. Emilia stared at the faces of each girl in the circle of nine, trying to remember them, trying to engrave their eyes and smiles into her brain before it all ended. But none of it stuck. Their faces vanished from her mind just as she looked away. She knew the end was coming, and she couldn't stop it. Everyone would die.

Her eyes snapped open as she sat up in an attempt to catch her breath.

 _Well, that was dark,_ she thought, getting off the hard park bench.

Emilia reached under the bench to retrieve her backpack, riffling thought it to find her bottle of water. There was a nasty taste in her mouth, like metal and stale breath.

"God, she stinks."

Emilia turned around. There was a small circle of girls standing behind her bench, huddled together, staring at her. They were smiling. Laughing.

She knew them too. Old class mates. She had been hoping to avoid situations like this. _Too late now; we're already down the rabbit hole._ Emilia smiled, waving at them politely and turning to walk in the other direction, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Going to find some lunch?" one of the girls called to her. "There's a café not too far from here. I'm sure they have some yummy left overs in their trash." The three girls giggled in unison, like brain-dead, perfume coated robots all set on a timer.

Emilia spun on her heels slowly. "I don't know, Trish. Are you sure you're not sending me in that direction to find the baby you probably dumped in there this morning?" she said, smirking superiorly. "What would this be, number two? That's, of course, not counting the three abortions along the way."

The blonde girl ground her teeth together, pushing her jaw forward, making her look a bit like the Crimson Chin. Emilia just smiled back at her.

"Are you calling her a slut?" Jen asked, trying to come to the defense of her friend.

"Well I wasn't making a Mother Theresa reference."

The three girls huffed, spinning all at once and marched away, their stilettos clinking on the concrete of the park walkway as they stormed off.

The smile faded from Emilia's face. She hated seeing people she knew. It didn't happen often, Phoenix was a big city. But it happened just enough to be a constant worry. There wasn't exactly much dignity in being a high school dropout. And even less in being homeless. But what was she supposed to do? She wasn't going to wait another two years until she got ejected from the orphanage system. And she wasn't going to let them move her to another state again. So she left, and since then, she hasn't felt better. Sure, she's definitely been _cleaner,_ but she was willing to pay any price for her freedom. Even if that price was unshaved legs and smelly armpits.

There was nowhere to go, nowhere to be today. So she walked, and walked, and walked until she reached the train tracks that ran through the middle of the city. These tracks were mostly used for cargo trains, and they all headed in the same direction. She stepped away from the tracks as a blue train with many cars behind it began chugging past her at a running speed. The cars in the front seemed to be a much better quality than the ones it pulled in the back of the train. The newer ones seemed to have better security. Probably better locks.

Which means the back ones might be unlocked.

Emilia smiled at the brilliantly insane idea that popped into her head. She watched as car after car went by, with many more to come, her thoughts moving at the speed of a bullet.

 _Why not?_

 _Who's going to stop me?_

 _Who cares enough to try?_

 _What else am I doing here?_

 _What else am I waiting for?_

Taking a step back, Emilia ran after one of the trains last few cars. As she ran beside it, she tugged open the sliding door effortlessly. _Jackpot._ The car was loaded with large, black crates. They were all full and all very heavy looking. But the car wasn't completely full. There was definitely enough room for her to sit, lie down even.

Keeping pace, she took a few more steps forward before grabbing the door handle again and pulling herself into the car, pulling the door shut behind her.

She sat among the boxes, wondering what they contained. Wondered what was in then that she could possibly use.

Not that she would really need anything that could be in the crates. Where she was headed all you needed was a fake ID (which she had) and something just revealing enough to get her free drinks. Where she was headed, money was meant to be lost or multiplied. And that money is usually later spent on some very shameful things, but everyone is shameless.

After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

 **Adelina:**

Ah yes.

There's nothing more entertaining than watching the feeble and the weak struggle with one of the most daunting events of adolescent life.

Gym class.

Adelina turned away, trying not to laugh out loud as Toby MacLeod once again, tried and failed to dunk the basketball. He ran across the gym as fast as he could, jumped right when his foot hit the free-throw line, stretched his arm out like Michael Jordan ready to make the winning throw, shorted it, fell to the ground and hit the wall.

Toby got up from the floor, attempting to stop the flow of blood from his nose and ignoring the laughter coming from the other students. Coach Parish tore a slip of paper from her clip board and handed it to the bleeding boy, sending him to the nurse's office. For the third time this week.

"Shay, you're up," Coach Parish called from the other side of the gym. _Oh crap. That's me._

The smile melted from Addy's face as she approached the center line of the gym. She scooped up the ball and bounced it on the ground like she knew exactly what she was doing. _This is only funny when it happens to other people,_ she thought, trying to think of some way out of this. There was no way she could dunk a basketball. She was barely five foot one on a good day. And on top of that, she couldn't even throw a crumpled piece of paper into the bin when she's standing right next to it. It's not like tiny Asian girls have a great reputation when it comes to sports.

She stood at the center line, the ball clutched between her two hands, arguing with herself in her head.

 _There's no way I can do this._

 _Stop it, just try your best._

 _There's no way I can fail at this._

 _Don't make me give them another reason to laugh at me._

 _Than give them a reason to respect you._

Adelina closed her eyes, trying to remember what Alex Dawson had done when he dunked the ball perfectly. She tried her best to picture the way his wrists moved when he let go of the ball, which foot stepped first, when he jumped.

She focused her eyes on the bloody stop on the flood where Toby had fallen. _No way I'm bleeding where Toby bled._

She ran for the net, trying to calculate exactly when she needed to jump. Her feet left the air and her left arm reached towards the basket. She was sure she wouldn't make it. She was sure she would short it like Toby did.

Then her hands hit the orange ring, leaving her dangling there while the ball bounced delicately on the floor after falling through the net.

Since her feet were a good five feet from the ground, Addy just hung there, completely shocked. Then there was screaming and cheering, and Adelina was lifted off the net onto someone's shoulders. The coach set her down on the floor. The stocky woman smiled down at her. "I have no idea how you did that, but that's an A+ kid."

The bell rang, and Adelina collected her math books to drop them into her locker. Once that was done, she headed to the other side of the school and opened the door to the gym. Coach Parish waited for her inside her small office just beside the bleachers.

Addy thought she probably wanted to talk to her about joining the basketball team after her amazing dunk this morning, but she knew with her crazy schedule and trying to get into Harvard that she would have to refuse.

Not that she liked basketball that much. She just had one lucky shot.

She entered the coach's office and sat down across from her.

"Hello, Adelina," the coach said, her sharp teeth flashing as she smiled. "Thank you for coming to see me. I just have a few questions to ask you about what happened in class today."

"Before you even bother," Addy interrupted the Coach's next sentence. She was missing her lunch period for this and she wanted it to move as fast as possible. "I don't have much interest in joining any kind of sports team. But thank you for the offer."

The coach smiled again, as though she were purposely trying to display her teeth. "That's a shame. But I would still like to ask you how you made that shot left handed."

"What?"

"I was curious about the way that you did it. I asked a few of your other teachers and they all insist that you're right handed. But you made that shot with your left hand. Do you know who else is left handed? Alex Dawson." The coach continued to smile while she talked, as though she knew all the answers and she was just waiting to trap Adelina in a lie. But what would she possibly lie about?

"Coach, I admit I was trying to do it like Alex. I just really didn't want to fail. But all I did was think about the way he did it and try to mimic him. Am I in trouble?"

"Oh, yes. You are in quite a bit of trouble, I'd say." Coach Parish stood from her chair, her smile continuing to widen, showing even more of her sharp, pointed teeth.

 _Wait, human teeth aren't pointy._

Adelina stood just as the coach lunged for her. She turned as quickly as she could, but the coach was faster. She was pinned under the weight of the colossal beast within seconds, shrieking and kicking and biting and thrashing. But there was nothing she could do.

The coach, or _whatever it was_ flipped her over and held her down by the shoulders in its snake-like hands. Its smile was even wider than before. Adelina realized that it was unhinging its jaw, getting ready to devour her.

 _Shit, shit, shit, what do I do?_

Her eyes wandered the room frantically, searching for a way out.

Her eyes locked on the beast's belt. Hanging from the leather was a small metal object sheathed in black fabric. A knife.

Very carefully, while the beast continued to slober all over her and prepare to eat her, muttering some kind of nonsense about blood type or half-blood or something ridiculous, Adelina reached over and slowly pulled the knife from its sheath.

Just when she had the strange black metal knife in her hand, she heard something that she did not expect the monster to say.

"Such a shame you'll never get to meet your mother."

Her eyes snapped back to the nasty monsters face. What was once Coach Parish is now, what could only be described as… well… Lizard Man.

Where's Spiderman when you need him.

Addy squinted her eyes at the thing, all fear washing away from her in an instant. "What do you know about my mother?"

The horrible reptile parted its leathery lips and let out a hissing sound that must have been a laugh. "Wouldn't you like to know."

 _Well, I can't say I didn't try._

Just as the razor sharp teeth were inches from her face, the small girl plunged the knife into the serpents gut, stumbling away from it as it screeched and hissed and slowly turned to dust.

Adelina wasn't nearly as surprised by this as she should have been. She's seen too many similarly horrible things in her dreams.

Adelina burst through the door of her father's small condo, finding him in the kitchen, sipping his coffee as he always did at this time of day. He looked up from his porcelain cup, surprised to see his daughter home so early. It was only lunch time after all.

Before he could even speak, Adelina burst into tears. She couldn't help it. All the fear and confusion had finally caught up with her and she just couldn't hold it in anymore. She wept loudly and messily as she told her father every messy detail, knowing she would be locked up for babbling about knives and monsters. But she told him anyway, and as she spoke, her father's eyes widened, his jaw dropped.

Once she was done, she was gasping for air. She sat down at the table across from her father and waited for him to say something. To tell her she was crazy. Or tell her that there was no honor in spinning lies, as he always would when she was small and too young to understand the consequences of lying. But she wasn't lying. Not this time.

Her father stood from the table, set down his coffee mug, and calmly opened the door to Adelina's bedroom.

"Pack your bag," he said, helping her up from the chair and wiping her tears. "I'm taking you to camp."

 **Thank you for reading. Please review**

 **The next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it written.**


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